When you are involved in a car crash, a slip and fall, or any other traumatic event, your first thought is usually about your recovery. But, for many Floridians, that thought is quickly followed by a wave of anxiety. You might worry that a prior back surgery, a history of neck pain, or a diagnosed case of arthritis will somehow cancel out your right to seek justice. You may have even heard from an insurance adjuster that because you were already hurt or had a degenerative condition, they are not responsible for your current pain.
We want to clear the air immediately. Having a pre-existing condition does not automatically disqualify you from a personal injury claim in Florida. In fact, under state law, the fact that you were already vulnerable may actually be a central part of your case. At The Nurse Lawyer, P.A., as Palm Harbor personal injury lawyers, we see this situation quite often. Our medical and legal expertise allows us to bridge the gap between your past medical history and your current need for compensation.
Understanding the Eggshell Plaintiff Doctrine
In Florida, the core legal concept is the Eggshell Plaintiff doctrine, which mandates that a defendant is responsible for the victim's injuries, regardless of any pre-existing conditions. Essentially, the defendant must accept the victim's physical state "as they find them."
Consider a scenario involving an individual with an unusually fragile skull. Should a negligent driver cause a collision that results in a severe injury, one that someone with a typical skull would not have sustained, the driver remains entirely accountable for the resulting damage. This is true regardless of the victim's pre-existing condition.
The law does not reward a negligent party just because their victim was already in a fragile state. Whether you have wear and tear on your spine from years of manual labor or a latent condition like degenerative disc disease, the person who caused your accident is legally responsible for the harm they inflicted on you specifically, not some hypothetical perfectly healthy person.
Aggravation vs. A New Injury
One of the biggest hurdles in these cases is distinguishing between what was already there and what the accident changed. Florida Standard Jury Instruction 501.5(a) is very clear on this point. It explains that if a defendant’s negligence caused an aggravation of an existing disease or physical defect, the jury should award damages for that aggravation.
We focus on proving that the accident moved the needle. Perhaps you had manageable back pain that required occasional over-the-counter medication, but after the crash, you now require a surgical consult or spinal injections. That shift from manageable to debilitating is exactly what we work to document. We look for the clinical before and after to show that your quality of life has been fundamentally altered by the recent trauma.
The Nurse-Lawyer Advantage in Medical Record Review
Insurance companies are experts at mining your medical history to find anything they can use to devalue your claim. They will look back ten or even twenty years to find a single mention of a sore shoulder or a tweak in your neck. They then use this to argue that your current injury is just a continuation of an old problem.
At The Nurse Lawyer, P.A., this is where our unique background as both nurses and trial lawyers becomes your greatest asset. We do not just look at the cover page of your medical records. We dive into the nursing flow sheets, the physical therapy progress notes, and the diagnostic imaging. We know how to read an MRI report to see the difference between chronic drying out of a disc, known as desiccation, and an acute, traumatic herniation caused by a collision.
Because we understand the clinical language, we can often find evidence that a general practice attorney might miss. We look for:
- Changes in your medication triggers or dosages.
- New objective findings in post-accident imaging that were not present in prior scans.
- Documented asymptomatic periods where your prior condition was dormant until the accident activated it.
- Functional limitations that appeared only after the date of the incident.
Common Pre-Existing Conditions That We Handle
We frequently represent clients who are worried about how their history will affect their case. Some of the most common conditions that are aggravated by Florida accidents include:
- Degenerative Disc Disease: Almost everyone over the age of thirty has some level of spinal degeneration. It is a natural part of aging, but a severe car crash can turn a painless condition into a lifetime of agony.
- Prior Surgical Sites: If you have hardware in your neck or back from a previous surgery, a new impact can cause adjacent level syndrome or damage the structural integrity of the initial repair.
- Arthritis: A slip and fall can cause a sudden flare-up of arthritis that was previously under control, leading to a permanent loss of range of motion.
- Old Sports Injuries: That knee injury from ten years ago might have been stable until a blunt force impact at an intersection caused a new ligament tear.
Transparency is Your Best Legal Strategy
One of the most important pieces of advice we give our clients is to be completely honest about their medical history. If you try to hide a prior injury, the insurance company will find it. When they do, they will use it to attack your credibility and make it look like you are trying to game the system.
When you are upfront with us, we can frame your history correctly from the very beginning. We do not view your pre-existing condition as a weakness; we view it as a baseline. By acknowledging your past, we can more effectively highlight the damage the new accident caused. We turn the insurance company's favorite weapon into a tool that proves exactly how much you have lost.
Why You Need a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist
Proving the aggravation of an injury is medically complex and legally demanding. It requires more than just a lawyer who can fill out forms. It requires a trial attorney who is comfortable standing in front of a jury and explaining medical science.
Our founding partner, Maryann Furman, BCS, Esq. RN, is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law, a distinction held by only a tiny fraction of Florida attorneys. This certification means she has been vetted for her expertise and her ability to take difficult cases all the way to a verdict. When insurance companies see that you are represented by a founding partner who is a Board Certified specialist and a Registered Nurse, they know that their usual excuses regarding pre-existing conditions will not work.
Your Path Forward After an Injury
If you are hurting after an accident but you are worried that your medical past will hold you back, please do not let the insurance company discourage you. Your rights are protected under Florida law, and you deserve to be compensated for every bit of extra pain and every new medical bill that the accident caused.
We are here to help you navigate this process with compassion and clinical precision. We will handle the heavy lifting of reviewing your records and dealing with the adjusters so that you can focus on getting back to the best version of yourself.
Contact The Nurse Lawyer, P.A. Today for a Consultation About Your Case
Do not let an old injury prevent you from getting the justice you deserve today. If you have been injured in an accident and are concerned about how your medical history might affect your claim, contact us. Our team has the medical insight and the courtroom experience to fight for the maximum value of your case.
Call us today at (727) 807-6182 or reach out through our website to schedule a free consultation. We are ready to listen to your story, review your records, and show you the Nurse-Lawyer difference.
Disclaimer: The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.
